Volunteers rights after autistic man loses job at Waitrose over mum asking for him to be paid

The rights of volunteers have been outlined after an autistic man was allegedly fired from Waitrose after his mum requested he be paid for his work.

Tom Boyd, who has been diagnosed as autistic, has volunteered at Waitrose for four years, unpaid, thoroughly enjoying his time working at the supermarket chain.

The Brit has limited communication abilities, but mum Frances Boyd said that his colleagues would help him on that front.

He was part of the team at Waitrose, though the mother has now admitted that she is 'heartbroken' after he was let go after a simple request for him to receive pay of some sort for his job.

She revealed that Tom, 27, has over 600 hours of work experience at a store in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester, after being hired to stack shelves and work with stock back in 2021.

But in an emotional message on Facebook, she spoke about how all she wanted was for Tom to be acknowledged and rewarded for the work he puts in.

Waitrose let go of Tom after his mum asked for paid work (Getty)

Frances, a charity worker from Stockport, claimed that her son increased his hours so he could work from 9.30am to 2pm two days a week, with a support worker accompanying him to ensure he felt safe at work.

It was said that Tom was even praised by Waitrose staff for his work ethic, but his shifts stopped coming after the mum and support worker teamed up to ask for him to move into paid work.

The plan was to transition him into paid employment, as Frances admitted that she feels 'deeply let down' by the decision in the end, as she claimed that some of Tom's workers would say 'you work harder than some people who are paid to work here'.

Speaking on social media, the mum claimed: "We were shocked by how dismissive and cold the response was. The manager said, 'We can’t just let him do his thing,' when that’s exactly what he’s been doing successfully for years."

She mentioned the Equality Act 2010, and how it 'clearly states that employers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people and that it’s unlawful to treat someone unfavourably because of their disability.'

But what are the rules around volunteer work in particular?

As stated on the official government website: "You do not have the same rights as an employee or worker."

It lists that you will be given a volunteer agreement explaining:

• The level of support and supervision you will get
• What training you will receive
• Whether you are covered by the organisation’s employer or public liability insurance
• Any health and safety issues
• Expenses the organisation will cover

While this isn't compulsory, it sets apart what you can expect while not forming a contract between you and the organisation.

Frances says Tom 'misses' working at the Waitrose chain in Cheadle Hulme (Family Handout)

Frances went on: "They told us he couldn’t be offered a job because he couldn’t 'do the full role' - yet we know for a fact there are people in the same store being paid, and they aren’t able to do every part of the job either. How is that fair? How is that not discrimination?"

She even claimed that she's had to lie to him about how he has no shifts, adding: “We told him the shop is being cleaned. We weren’t after 40 or 30 or 20 hours. We said we’d accept four, three or even two - just something,” she said, per the Times.

The mum said that while the company is 'cold', the staff were kind and that it is an ideal workplace for Tom to work at, revealing that he does miss working there.

Waitrose have a Modern Slavery Statement on its website, listing its priorities when it comes to its values in the workplace, including details of exploitation, inclusivity and diversity.

A Waitrose spokesman told the Times: “We work hard to be an inclusive employer. As part of this, we partner with a number of charities, including to provide work experience, and are well experienced in making reasonable adjustments to help people succeed at work.

“We are sorry to hear of Tom’s story, and whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, we are investigating as a priority.”